Brian Schottenheimer’s Friday update gave Dallas its clearest answer yet at running back: Israel Abanikanda is the likely next option behind Javonte Williams. The Cowboys coach identified Abanikanda as the expected practice-squad elevation and backup candidate, while also noting additional running-back work for fullback Hunter Luepke.
That is a sensible direction, provided everyone keeps the job description in view. Dallas does not need Abanikanda to arrive as a new offensive centerpiece. It needs him to become a dependable reserve while Tyler Goodson deals with a significant knee absence and Malik Davis remains lost for the season. The gap behind Williams is real, but the answer does not have to be theatrical.
Abanikanda’s NFL résumé is short enough to fit on a receipt. Across six games with the New York Jets in 2023, he made no starts, carried 22 times for 70 yards, averaged 3.2 yards per carry and scored no touchdowns. He also caught seven passes for 43 yards.
That is an actual NFL sample, which separates him from a purely speculative choice, but it is hardly a body of work that settles every question about his readiness.
The small sample cuts both ways. Abanikanda has been in an NFL environment and has handled regular-season snaps, so Schottenheimer’s assessment is not based solely on practice-squad anonymity. At the same time, 22 carries do not establish a proven floor for a backup job. They offer a reference point, not a finished scouting report.
That is why the wording around Friday’s update matters. Abanikanda was described as likely to be elevated, not as having completed a transaction. He was identified as the expected backup, not handed a guaranteed workload. Dallas still has to make the roster move and sort through a backfield that includes Kendre Miller and Jashaun Corbin as practice-squad depth and insurance.
Luepke’s added work gives the Cowboys another body to consider, although it should not be mistaken for a clean replacement. A fullback can widen the choices in a depleted room, but his presence does not erase the need for a running back who can give Williams a credible supporting option.
Dallas is examining flexibility because the room requires it, not because one Friday practice solved the problem.
The timing makes the choice more important. Dallas is 4–5 and preparing to host the 7–1 San Francisco 49ers on Sunday at AT&T Stadium. That is a substantial assignment for any backfield, and it arrives after Goodson had supplied a clear example of the role Dallas now has to cover.
In the Cowboys’ 27–23 victory at Indianapolis on Nov. 8, Goodson carried 12 times for 77 yards, averaging 6.4 yards per carry. His absence removes a recent contributor, not an abstract depth-chart name.
